The Rev. Paul J Cain
John 19:17-30
It Is Finished
Good Friday, 6 April 2012
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
LSB 450:5: What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend, For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Think forever! And should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never,
Outlive my love for Thee.
The
theology of the cross obviously does not mean that for the theologian the whole
church year shrinks to Good Friday. It rather means that one cannot understand
Christmas, Easter, or Pentecost without Good Friday. Luther was, alongside of
Irenaeus and Athanasius, one of the great theologians of the incarnation. He
was that because he saw the cross behind the manger. He understood the victory
of Easter as well as any theologian of the Eastern Church. But he understood it
because he understood it as the victory of the Crucified. The same can be said
of his understanding of the activity of the Holy Ghost. It is always the cross
which illuminates all chapters of theology because the deepest nature of
revelation is hidden in the cross. This being so, Luther’s theologia crucis
wants to be more than one of the many theological theories which have appeared
in the course of the history of the Church. It claims to be, in contrast to
another theology, which now prevails in Christendom and which Luther calls the
theologia gloriae, the correct, the scriptural theology with which the Church
of Christ stands and falls. Only of the preaching of this theology, Luther
thinks, can it be said that it is the preaching of the Gospel.
Sasse,
Letters to Lutheran Pastors 18, 1951
Posted by Rev.
Matt Harrison at 4:24
PM
It is
finished. The cross is where salvation was accomplished. Period. The Lord
Himself also does the work of delivering that salvation to you, here and now,
in Word and Sacrament. That is also finished and is difficult for American
Christians to believe.John 19:17-30 is at the core of these comforting truths.
So they
took Jesus, 17 and
he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull,
which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There
they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus
between them. 19 Pilate
also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews.” 20 Many
of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was
near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests
of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather,
‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have
written.”
Jesus is
now enthroned on the cross between those appointed to be on His right and His
left. Sorry, James and John. This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. The
four letters I N R I are often found at the top of a cross. This is the Latin
abbreviation of the title, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Pilate has
spoken, for his work is finished.
23 When the soldiers had crucified
Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for
each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece
from top to bottom, 24 so
they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see
whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided
my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
The dead
have no need for clothing, the soldiers think to themselves. The whole is
greater than the parts, so they gamble for Jesus’ tunic. The soldiers have a
very practical view of death. As you know, His is no ordinary life or death,
for He lives again.
So the
soldiers did these things, 25 but
standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary
the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When
Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to
his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then
he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple
took her to his own home.
Behold,
Jesus says to his mother and his beloved disciple, John, our narrator. As a
good son, He honors His mother, keeping the commandment. Is His vocation of Son
now complete, too?
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all
was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour
wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch
and held it to his mouth. 30 When
Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his
head and gave up his spirit. [1]
Jesus
rejected the drugged wine before. He submits to drinking wine vinegar, knowing
that all was now finished. And he speaks: It is finished. And He bowed His head
and gave up His spirit.
Note: The salvation Christ won on the cross has truly come
to pass (objective reality). But unless the Holy Spirit applies that salvation
to us personally and individually (subjectively), it will remain hidden from
us. Sanctification is often understood to refer to our good works. (Here)
Luther uses it, as the Bible often does, to describe the entire work of the
Holy Spirit bringing us salvation, including justification. [In the next question,]
Luther [will drive] (drives) home the point that “Church” is, first and
foremost, the people the Holy Spirit is gathering together through the
preaching of the Gospel. It is not primarily a building or an institution.
Luther suggests it is best to understand the “communion of saints” as a
“community of saints” or a “holy community.” It is not holy because of their
works, but because of the Holy Spirit’s work in their midst. Within the Church
the Holy Spirit, through preaching and through “signs” (that is, the
sacraments), forgives us and keeps us in the faith. Therefore, in this sense,
it is right to say that outside the Church there is no salvation. This is not
because of an infallible papacy, but because of what is going on by the
Spirit’s power. He works the forgiveness of sins and continues that work to the
very end of time. (See AC VII/VIII; SA III XII.)[2]
Luther writes: 38
Neither you nor I could ever know anything about Christ, or believe on Him, and
have Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts
by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel [1 Corinthians 12:3;
Galatians 4:6]. The work of redemption is done and accomplished [John 19:30].
Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death,
resurrection, and so on [Colossians 2:3]. But if the work remained concealed so
that no one knew about it, then it would be useless and lost. So that this
treasure might not stay buried, but be received and enjoyed, God has caused the
Word to go forth and be proclaimed. In the Word He has the Holy Spirit bring
this treasure home and make it our own. 39
Therefore, sanctifying is just bringing us to Christ so we receive this good,
which we could not get ourselves [1 Peter 3:18].[3]
Similarly,
the Formula of Concord confesses: 4
3. God the Holy Spirit, however, does not bring about conversion without means.
For this purpose He uses the preaching and hearing of God’s Word, as it is
written in Romans 1:16, the Gospel “is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes.” 5
Also Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word
of Christ.” It is God’s will that His Word should be heard and that a person’s
ears should not be closed (Psalm 95:8). With this Word the Holy Spirit is
present and opens hearts, so that people (like Lydia in Acts 16:14) pay
attention to it and are converted only through the Holy Spirit’s grace and
power, who alone does the work of converting a person. 6 For without His grace, and if He does not grant the
increase, our willing and running, our planting, sowing, and watering (1
Corinthians 3:5–7)—are all nothing. As Christ says ‹in John 15:5›, “apart from
Me you can do nothing.” With these brief words the Spirit denies free will its
powers and ascribes everything to God’s grace, in order that no one may boast
before God (1 Corinthians 1:29; [2 Corinthians 12:5; Jeremiah 9:23]).[4]
It is as we memorize the Bible truth in the Small Catechism:
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,
and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a
lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death,
and from the power of the devil. He did this not with gold or silver, but with
His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that I
may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting
righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead,
lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.[5] Amen.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
2001 (Jn 19:16–30). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
[2] Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions.
2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (402–403). St. Louis, MO: Concordia
Publishing House.
[3] Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions.
2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (403). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing
House.
[4] Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions.
2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (478). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing
House.
[5] Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions.
2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (329). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing
House.
